Mary Gardner Clagett | Jobs for the Future (JFF)

Mary Gardner Clagett is senior director of workforce policy for the Workforce and Education Policy Group at JFF. Mary works with workforce policy leaders and practitioners from around the country to shape effective policy recommendations to meet the skills needs of America’s workers and the US economy. She and her team work to identify best and promising practices, particularly for meeting the education, training, and placement needs of entry-level workers—translating practice into policy. 

Mary has more than 25 years of experience working with the US Congress in the fields of education, workforce development, and human services policy. Before joining JFF, Mary served in a similar capacity for the National Center on Education and the Economy and previously served as the lead staff for Republicans on the US House Committee on Education and the Workforce, responsible for workforce development and career preparation legislation, including the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the National School-to-Work Opportunities Act, and numerous other measures related to workforce, education, and human services. She has also served in the US Senate on the Labor and Human Resources Committee for West Virginia Senator Jennings Randolph. 

Mary earned her undergraduate degree from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, and carried out her graduate work at George Washington University in Washington, DC.